Reviews by mutsuriini

92

Am Alive ... and thrilled

I've been constantly complaining about how most games are developed with only consoles in mind, thus lacking in quality story, storytelling and content. Well, I'm proud to say that, even though I am Alive is obviously a console port, it has all the things I'd expect from a top notch old school PC game. I mean I don't go back and play 2000 era games for no reason.
This game provides an excellent setting for you to do whatever you wish. The only thing that is required of you is to survive. It is completely up to you whether you're going to help those in need or not. And the reward is not substantial, so as a gaming perspective helping people isn't really necessary.
On the other hand the game is so good at sucking you in that, I felt obliged to help people as best as I could. I often thought, "what would I do?" and reacted accordingly. Played it in normal mode, and let me say that I'm no expert at quicktime events and all that new stuff console games require me but playing this game was really an immersing experience.
Definitely reccommend it to everyone.

95

Aged, but still very good

Deus Ex is undoubtedly one of the classic games which tried to elevate the FPS genre to new heights by adding adventure and RPG elements. The game has a decent cyberpunk storyline set in an atmospheric near-future dystopian Earth, excellent gameplay mechanics, as well as good graphics for the time; and if you spend a couple of minutes googling for the additions made by a dedicated modder community - some picks mentioned below by other reviewers - , even the graphics aged relatively well.
The core of the experience is that the player always feels making meaningful choices and does not feel at all artificially constrained by a linear design. Sure, there are only a limited number of choices, but whether it is about deciding how to take out a bunch of terrorists occupying a building (options ranging from non-violent stealthy ones to attack the front door armed with heavy weaponry) or about picking a new skill or augmentation, there is always something which helps you in having your own experience and playing in the style you prefer.
The story itself is engaging if not fully original to everyone with some knowledge of dystopian/cyberpunk settings. There is plenty of information on the historical and philosophical background in in-game notes, though if you just want to enjoy the action, you are free not to bother with these too much. Character interaction is somewhere between an average FPS and an RPG game: you do not have any teammates and there are few really memorable characters, but you got to interact with them occasionally either through the game's dialogues or during gameplay sequences.
The game does not lack some of the usual stealth shooter problems though ranging from an unrealistically narrow and short visual range of enemies to occasional strange AI behavior, yet these are mainly minor issues. FPS players might find the skill system a bit strange first as it is not enough to get big guns, you must have the proper skill level for the weapon class to use it properly. It is not really hard to get to a decent level and augment upgrades can be found at various locations, though, providing a sense of development. Overall it is a classic game every sci-fi or FPS fan should give a try - most of them would be more than pleased.

78

Not awesome as Deus Ex, but a great game nevertheless!

Deus Ex: Invisible war is not exactly a bad game. If you compare it to Deus Ex 1, Invisible war comes short, but anyway, most second parts of a series do. Having read a lot of bad things about Invisible War I finally decided to play it anyway out of curiosity and love for the first part. And I must admit that I am glad. It may not be as deep as the first part was, but the game still carries a message. The gameplay is not bad, there are so questionable things about the game (e.g. you go back to desktop any time you load a new level just to wait for the new level to load and still see a load screen). My advice is: if you liked deus ex 1 you will probably not like Invisible War as much, but you will still play a good game and it is a must play for a Deus Ex fan.

100

Hardcore game

The difficulty of this game is no secret, you will die, probably several times, while playing. But like many games, the more you play, the better you'll become and the more your character will gain in experience and durability, although will really only serve in expanding the time you spend playing between deaths, because at some point, you'll find an enemy far more powerful than you expected and again, you'll die. The enemies are fantastic, both in looks and power, every encounter requires a strategy. But you will be rewarded. The bosses are incredible, and you feel a real sense of accomplishment in their defeat, so much so that you may want to tell others using the great in-game social mechanic.

100

Wow! I never expected this to be so good

After playing the original game so may years ago, and subsequently being a bit confused by "invisible war" I really didn't know what to expect from this new entry to the series. After all there have been so many other games over the years where they've come back a few years later and completely sucked/ messed up everything that was good about the original. But man alive these guys just about nailed it for this game!
I say just about because yes, it's a bit annoying that there are these unavoidable boss fights that pop up but the rest of the time, the stealth gameplay and RPG elements are perfect. Every problem has a few solutions and every level has multiple paths. You can choose to be honourable and not kill anyone which in turn makes different people react differently to you. Even just conversations can make a difference to what else happens. The storyline is engaging and honestly wouldn't be out of place in a hollywood movie. So if you like stealth gameplay and a bit of intelligence in your shooters, this is a no-brainer! And if you wait to pick it up as a combo pack you can also get the first 2 entries at the same time.

87

Extra weapons for a great game

The extra weapons add a little spice to the game. I mean, has a grenade launcher ever NOT been fun? The additional mission is a brief, well-made mission that added some extra interaction with characters that I enjoyed and this DLC mission didn't feel like it was disruptive to the overall story. In fact, I can't say for sure as I haven't played the game without this DLC to see how things are tied together, It is pretty cheap anyways, so not much to complain about. I would recommend buy the DLC when it is on sale.

75

Really great game

I've been playing S2 on my Xbox 360 for a little over a year now, and was always bummed out that Ascaron deep-sixed before they could port the Expansion pack to the US or to the console systems.
Now that I have a laptop however I've picked up this version of the game, which includes it's expansion pack Ice and Blood, for less than what I payed for the core game on my Xbox.
Anyhow, The game is huge. There's over 20 square miles of territory to cover. Over 600 quests(!).
Every class has it's own unique storyline that changes a bit here and there depending on whether your character is good or evil.
An over-arcing storyline for the good guys and the bad guys.
An immense amount of customization, with over 400 stat points and over 900 points earned by the time you reach level 200.
Mountains of loot and a pretty decent inventory system, it could be slightly better but it's serviceable.
5 difficulty settings, so once you finish the game you can carry your toon and all their gear/loot over to the next level.
The online servers were unfortunately taken down a few years ago, but there are work-arounds to this including the ability to play over LANs (and if you hunt around the internet there are a few programs out there that emulate LANs to enable online play with friends across the world).
There's also a free playmode somewhat hidden in the co-op menu that enables you to free roam on any difficulty setting and saves your character status and and gear, but resets all the missions and bosses every time you "connect" to it. (No connection is actually needed)
Anyhow, long story short this is a great game in my opinion and is definately worth a look despite the bugs that occassionally pop up.
Also, if you do get the game remember to check out a website called darkmatters.
There's a forum there specifically dedicated to Sacred 2 and they're pretty much the largest knowledge base on the net for the game. Plus they've got a pretty sweet community created patch that fixes some of the known bugs for the game and even adds in some new gear and quests/content.

93

Tiny Tina

Borderlands 2's Tiny Tina has got some bizarre quirks and qualities a vocal few openly denounce, but she's memorable in a way so few women in games are. All that, and she's still a little girl. The frenetic little firecracker is a bundle of energy, so it makes perfect sense that she should host a game of Bunkers & Badasses, an obvious parody of Dungeons & Dragons. In "Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep," your go-to Vault Hunter rolls for initiative with Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai as part of the very first play session ever sanctioned. The final piece of Borderlands 2 DLC serves up a hilarious send-up of nerd culture sprinkled with nods to D&D, marinated in Tiny Tina's peculiar blend of humor.
Fast-traveling to the Unassuming Docks of Little Importance, we find our heroes embarking on their first role-playing adventure while a certain "Hyperion informant" is roughed up downstairs. After a brief interlude, the stage is set (by Bunker Master Tina of course) at Flamerock Refuse – a "nice place until the Handsome Sorcerer messed it up." The rainbow etched across the sky in this land of make-believe you're suddenly transported to doesn't exactly reflect an air of desolation, so Tina rectifies her mistake by instantly changing the scenery to something more eerie and hopeless, music included.
It's immediately obvious this scenario is a meta look at playing dungeon master and the way a D&D narrative can be altered so hastily. From then on, you're exploring the entire imaginary landscape on Tina's terms, which results in some giggle-worthy location names and terrain altering, as well as a bundle of surprises.
Borderlands 2 - Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon's Keep
Enemies like "skellymens" (skeleton archers), deadly treants named Stumpy, and "Mr. Boney Pants Guy" are spawned to greet your Vault Hunter as the journey wears on, as it's clear Tina's storytelling is in dire need of improvement. Each area is tailored to exude a classic western-RPG feel, with high fantasy-styled naming conventions. You'll explore the Forest of Tranquility, until Brick declares it's too boring for his tastes, at which point it then becomes the Forest of Being Eaten Alive by Trees. Brick's outburst and Tina's subsequent editing is hilarious, and it's a blast to watch familiar BL2 personalities interact with each other while in-character.
Everything's had its own high fantasy makeover, with the vending machines themselves sporting attractive stained glass accents. There are also new class mods that reinforce the central theme, such as "Chaotic Neutral Sorceress" or "Lawful Good Ranger." Plenty of loot, places to spend hard-earned eridium, and new slot machines with even better weapons and equipment lie in wait. Even treasure chests get in on the old-school adventure action, rolling (you guessed it) a D20 to determine the quality of loot you come away with. Spend a bit of eridium, and you can roll two D20s to up the ante.
Despite these augments, mission objectives aren't exactly novel: Find and collect X, defeat X, go to X. They're all culled from the outline of a generic fantasy adventure. The allure stems from the world's ever-changing environments, ambiance, and population. It's completely different from anything you've seen on Pandora, deftly incorporating elements that adhere to classic Borderlands convention while randomizing encounters and even the land around you at a moment's notice. It brings to mind finicky DMs from real-world tabletop encounters, or even the artist who's constantly dissatisfied with his work; mind ever-changing and ideas ever-flowing.
Unique to your quest is a grand boss battle that will take every bit of your manpower: not one, but a group of dragons. It's a grueling but exhilarating encounter, one probably best with a group of friends at your disposal. I had to go it alone, and assistance was sorely missed.
If that's not enough to wet your whistle, consider this: despite the fact there are no additional characters this time around, there's an expansive selection of enemies and campaign-specific weapons. They're not simply re-skinned skags and the like – they're orcs, golems, gnomes, and knights out for blood. You'll gun them down with magical spells and armaments that shoot swords or even exude drunkenness (say hello to The Grognozzle and Swordsplosion).
As the culmination of what's undoubtedly been a wild ride as far as the Borderlands 2 downloadable content packs are concerned, Tiny Tina's adventure ends with a bang. There's even a link to what could eventually blossom into something bigger at the end of the line, but that's not for me to spoil here. Just know that the grind is certainly worth it, especially if you've been on board from the very beginning.
From the Pixie who adds special buffs as long as she's not provoked to the snarky commentary from the Vault Hunters and malevolent wizards, Assault on Dragon Keep is a playful nod to tired fantasy tropes permeating the world of RPGs, simultaneously playing to them and turning them on their head. It's a surrealistic trip through the imagination of a manic little girl who can't quite grasp the fact that for some of her friends, there's no coming back.

92

Totally recommend the game

It's too bad that first game is not on PC because its sequel is an excellent FPS. The comic book-like art style is great and the adult storyline is engaging. The English voice-acting is well done and soundtrack is excellent. As a shooter, the gameplay is decent but is nothing special.

95

A unique game, not for everyone, but highly recommended

This is yet another great strategy offering from Paradox. Fans of the original Victoria and its expansion, Revolutions, will feel a bit more at home. Those coming straight into the game cold, be prepared for a pretty steep learning curve; this is the case in almost all Paradox games and caveat emptor.
With all that said, once you overcome the learning curve (and you will never fully plumb the depths, there seems to always be something new to learn) you find yourself rewarded with a deep, fulfilling grand strategy game set in the Victorian period, 1830s - 1920s. The political and economic aspects are the most stressed, though warfare and diplomacy should not be set aside too easily. The open ended nature of this game makes the course of your world's history unique and rarely duplicated.

85

XCOM is no X-Com - but it's really great

Firaxis' XCOM, while a great game, is probably never going to be considered a classic like the original X-Com that is still today being replayed over and over again by players all over the world.
The game seems amazing to begin with (though perhaps too streamlined and simplified, some would argue), but in the long term it suffers from a myriad of weird bugs (teleporting enemies, XCOM operatives stuck in the environment etc.) that make the otherwise tense, but fair ironman mode an exercise in frustration.
I enjoyed my first playthrough immensely in spite of this, but upon starting a new game I realized how little randomization there is when it comes to the different maps you play on. The area layouts seem exactly the same as on your first playthrough, and so the level of replayability suffers enourmously. The grand strategic layer of the game, the geoscape, is also much more limited in terms of the choices you're given - everything seems more 'staged' - but there are some nice new additions that give the game an identity of its own.
One could say that it's lacking compared to X-Com, but you could also say that it's simply different, and stands on its own as a great, streamlined modern version of the amazing wonder of a game that the Gollop brothers cooked up in 1994. It's certainly much better than the lacklustre UFO series.

100

The best Disciples 3

I concede that Disciples 3 has lost a bit of the epic strategy that was its main selling point in the previous installations. There are also problems, bugs and AI are at the top of the list. That said, it is still a wonderful game. To 'prepare' for Rebirth, I have recently replayed the campaign of Resurrection, and once again I enjoyed weeks of grandiose battles and epic struggles. As most people will confirm, the graphic, dark, noir, and very mature, is the best in the business. I know that games must appeal to a vast audience, and I surely like King's Bounty, but watching cute bunnies popping around the battlefield is not my thing. Battles in Disciples are played in breath-taking scenarios with fantastic creatures and horrible monsters, and some of the peculiar dynamics in this series reach highs that not even Heroes can achieve. Over 70 hours of enjoyment (much more for me, I like to take it easy and repeat many battles) Count me in!

66

Not really better than the previous

Disciples III is a load of fun, but all that fun is a bit soured by some bizarre technical issues and strange design choices.
The UI is, to put it as simply as possible, horrible. Menu buttons are all over the screen and the Load Game screen doesn't even bother to timestamp your saves -- you have to guess which saves are which either by the title of the save or the screenshot. It can take multiple clicks just to access simple options like upgrades and inventory.
The artifical intelligence isn't too intelligent. It blatantly cheats -- it fixes percentage rolls during the more difficult combat encounters, and certain units have an automatic chance to hit their opponents despite what the screen tells you. Missile units in particular are prone to a 100% hit rate later in the game. The critical hits mechanic seems to suffer the same problem.
It's fortunate that Disciples III offers enough variety to make you want to keep playing. The maps are well done, the monster units are creative and varied, and the overall game mechanics are solid. Graphically, Disciples III is still one of the prettiest strategy games around. The devs obviously put a lot of effort into the artstyle, and this helps offset some of the weirder issues that plague the game. I should also note that DIII suffers from regular crashes unless the latest patch is installed.
I really can't suggest Disciples III to just anyone -- only hardcore Disciples fans or dedicated TBS gamers will likely get any long-term enjoyment out of it.

66

Regular Game

The original Disciples 3 has quite some problems in its gameplay despite the stunning visual. Disciples Reincarnation is a remake containing both Renaissance and Resurrection and fixes a lot of problems in the original games. As a result, Reincarnation is a better choice than any other version of Disciples 3.

90

Awesomenes continues!

Borderlands 2 returns you to Pandora. Where a villain named Handsome Jack has taken over. The game starts off with Handsome Jack trying to kill you. As the story develops you get deeper into trouble with things only getting harder as you go head.
There is a mix of playable characters in Borderlands 2. You can choose from a Gunzerker, Siren, commando, assassin, Mechromancer and Psycho. Each character has a unquie skill tree whch you can uprgrade by gaining experience. Also along the way you can pickup different weapons, shields, and upgrades that have various attributes. The game features lockers, boxes and cabinets filled with loot for you to collect.
The game has a great story line and hilarious scenes with great voice acting. The game art style is comic looking animation which is interesting and grabs you attention.
Online gameplay is a great feature in Borderlands 2 and if you don’t give it a try you’re really missing out on a great time with friends and family.
Borderlands 2 is not a game for kids or people who hate bad language and violence. The game is rated M so it contains gore, violence, language, sexual themes and use of alcohol. So please don't buy this game for any one under 15.
Bottom line is this game is a great game and you will have hours of fun. It's a game you could play over and over again.

95

Mindblowing Graphics, Fast-Paced Action, Engaging Storyline

RAGE is an exceptionally well made game. Please note that I only played it in Single-Player-mode.
The graphics are up to par. Maybe among the best you can find right now. At the same time it scales down nciely, meaning also on weaker rigs you'll find a way to make it work. It looks so good sometimes I caught myself checking out just the nice textures. The same can be said for the audio. A lot of good voice action and a nice soundtrack make this game technically very reasonable.
The story is introduced by an amzingly beautiful intro-video. In and of itself, this is a masterpiece of art. The game then brings you right into the fast paced action and introduces you to the merciless post-apocalyptic world of RAGE.
From here on you can follow the story, find and receive different weapons, drive and optimize vehicles and shoot and fight with very innovative features (Boomerang, all kinds of cool weaponry). The game knows how to present itself not only technically, but also with bombastic game mechanics. The fighting is really nice, somewhere between realistic und dangerous, every fight will need your full attention.
The quests are quite engaging and bring forth the story of the game of which I don't want to reveal here. I liked it a lot. Also nice are the races with the car(s) and the minigames ingame - try them out, you'll like them too! In fact you don't only get a FPS-game, but there's racing in there and a lot of good adventure-style story. Wow, what a bang for the buck!
Definitely a full recommendation, I have to admit this is the new standard for post-apocalyptic gaming!

67

Good Game

Like most horror games, Grimind isn’t exactly rooting for you. It pits you against vicious monsters, compromises your escape attempts with tricky puzzles, and tries to creep you out with eerie sounds and minimal lighting. In theory, all these elements should work in tandem to make for an excellent experience. But in practice, they’re all tarnished by the game’s myriad flaws.
Grimind is a 2D puzzle-platformer and, as is common of the genre, you do little more than run, jump, carry items, and occasionally climb. These are the handful of tools you’re given, and unfortunately they don’t always work how you want them to. I found myself constantly snagging on walls while trying to jump, which made navigating some of the more confined areas a true test of patience. I tried to accommodate the issue by changing the way I played, but I never managed to resolve it completely. It’s a shame, because this fundamental problem made some of Grimind’s better moments harder to appreciate.
And since we’re talking problems that could potentially be fixed via patch, the text is home to quite a few grammar problems. This is largely permissible, as English clearly isn’t the first language of Grimind’s creator. All the same, the errors constantly removed me from the experience, and occasionally made it difficult to understand what the game was trying to tell me. I’ve seen plenty of games with similar issues that were fixed post-launch, so there’s still hope.
Where there’s less hope, though, is with some of the game’s puzzles. A few of them—particularly early in the game—force you to perform tedious tasks like moving several items from one location to another. Because of their repetitive nature and obvious solutions, I felt no sense of reward after completing them.
But such occasions were uncommon, and plenty of Grimind’s puzzles left me scratching my head with glee (I love puzzles, shut up). Some of them were damaged by the game’s fundamental control problems, but others were a delight to work through. And seeing as how trying out incorrect solutions or just plain screwing up mid-puzzle can result in death, the game’s forgiving checkpoint system was a welcome addition.
Grimind also deserves credit for its dedication to atmosphere. Rare are the moments when you’re not treated to dim lighting, strange sound effects, or worst of all: hungry monsters. It’s worth noting, however, that the game isn’t scary—or at least I didn’t consider it to be. But these sorts of things are objective, as I learned when my friends teased me for being scared of The Blair Witch Project. It’s wholly possible you’ll be on the edge of your seat the entire time you play, but even if you aren’t, it’s hard not to appreciate the game's style.
If you’re starved for a horror game and willing to look past Grimind's control flaws and occasionally tedious puzzle design, there’s a good chance you’ll have fun. If you’re a little more uptight about such things, I’d recommend either waiting for a patch or passing on it altogether. If none of these options sound appealing to you (so picky!), you could always download the demo here and see if it does anything for you.

94

Incredible Fun Game

A fantastic game, which is full of humor and and fun. Most people have thus far criticized the game (and rightly so) for the enormous number of bugs it had upon release. Having bought and played the game over a week after release, I myself only experienced a handfull of frustrations. While these were annoying, they were completely overshadowed by the sheer volume of fun and hilarity the game offers. Playing co-op with a friend, I don't think I've laughed that hard in ages. The innovative game-play, funny dialog and outrageous in-game antics made for a heck of a fun evening. As the bugs get patched and forgotten, I highly recommend the game to everyone who can find a friend to play with; I can't fathom some of those battles being handled alone!

93

Buy this Pack

Hearts of Iron 3 was a highly ambitious project that in many ways is light-years ahead of its predecessor, HoI 2, even heavily modded. The Vanilla game had a shaky start (to say the least) but over the years since its release it has become a massive success, a true re-imagining of the Hearts of Iron series. The game needed the two expansions and countless patches (all included in this Collection) to become fully fleshed out, so entry into HoI 3 from here is an absolute must. Its major difference compared to HoI 2 is in its enhanced automation; the player simply chooses the parameters and goals and the armies will order themselves until their objectives are reached. Getting allied support along the front is equally simplified, reducing the need to constantly shuffle expeditionary forces during larger military maneuvers. The player can choose to deactivate this automation at any time in favor of micro-managing armies (as in HoI 2), allowing the more tedious tasks to be maintained by the computer (e.g. defense of front) while the player can mount a proper attack on another front.

70

A very interesting game

This is actually a pretty good game. As someone else said above its more like an arcade flyer than a true jet sim, with basic flight controls, a basic targeting system and simple weapon controls (via the mouse, i.e. fire guns LMB/ Fire Rockets RMB /flares mouse wheel). Seems like you get unlimited ammo. The graphics are nice; nothing special, but the environments looks real enough, with different scenarios at different times of the day in different theatres. The jet physics are good and game play is decent, though personally I'd rather play Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. or fly a jet in ArmA II as I have six degrees of freedom in both games and can play from the cockpit instead of playing from a chase viewpoint. It would be nice to be able to change the camera views. I much prefer playing these games from the cockpit. Still what little time I've played so far I've thoroughly enjoyed
It reminds me of a budget version of Jane's Advanced Strike Fighters. I did find the heavily accented (Arabic/Far East I think) background radio chatter a little distracting, but generally it added an extra dimension to the game and was acceptable.
For me HyperSonic 4 is going to be more of a time filler much like the recently released Dogfight 1942 in between deciding what other games I'm going to play. :)

86

Old School Game

Don’t you just love indie games that take the best elements of various genres and bring them together to create an entirely new game? I know I do, and that’s precisely what Gentleman Squid have done with Rise of the Ravager; it’s part RPG, part shooter, part Guitar Hero.
In Rise of the Ravager it’s your duty to defend a charming cartoon land from four different colours of enemy: red, blue, yellow and green by shooting them with the right colour of bullet. That sounds a little easy, but Rise of the Ravager does actually present a solid challenge, with later levels requiring a lot of skill to complete.
To set up your defence you’ll use the in-game currency that you earn through completing levels. You’ll spend currency on upgrading your stats for power, rate of fire and more, and can create automatic turrets and towers to create your devastating arsenal.
Controls in Rise of the Ravager are tight and accurate and I personally didn’t have any trouble using them. There’s also a co-op mode, though I haven’t been able to play it yet.
One of my favourite parts of this great indie game is its boss fights, which reveal some real creative spark at work in Gentleman Squid. As for the worst part of the game, I will say that I would have liked to have seen more variety to the enemies, having such a limit number of sprites does make the game feel a little repetitive. ~The same can be said of the backgrounds: there’s just not enough variety.
Those graphical issues aren’t enough to stop me from praising this game. Rise of the Ravagers is a highly addictive and wonderfully playable game with great controls and a healthy amount of challenge.

95

Just Cause 2: a very well made game!

People who like the gta series of games will love this as is along the same lines as it but also has a lot of different features. One of my favourites is the grapple and the quick and cool travel is gives the player and how it works seamlessly with the parachute for long distance travelling. The black market is also a very nice feature as it allows you to get equipment quickly and easily without having to fiddle with cheats or search for ages trying to find a shop to get it from. Overall I think it is a great free roam game that will appeal to many people as you can either play through the story and different gang quests or simply just mess around playing around with no real objective and just having some fun.

73

Challenging expansion to Men of War

This is a good stand alone campaign mission pack for the Men of War game system. However be warned this is a single player only. This disappoints me very much as much of the fun of this game is in the coop. This to me is like buying Silent Heroes after playing SHOWWII then finding out its single player only. I still like Red Tide because its got all the goodness of the game system that I love so its still worth the money. I just wish they would release multiplayer next time.

51

Men of War: Vietnam review

Men of War: Vietnam, Feels like a poor mod made for Men of War, Engine is the same and cant realy handle the "jungle" warfare quite as well as the WW2 aspect, Camera is locked to low so you cant get a good overview of the maps aswell as helos beeing just on the edge of were you can see them.
Helos look nice on the ground, sometimes in the air aswell, alltho i was hopeing for a nicer way of using them, as they are now they are realy boring, crash animation is poor to say the least. A plus tho is the Campain which gives you a good challange. Multiplayer is strictly CO-OP, wich is not quite my cup fo tea, but for you who enjoy that you will prob. enjoy the COOP play with others. Seems the Servers are quite buggy right now so my atempt of MP failed misserably. Bottomline: Not quite 2 stars, Its not a good expansion (even if its standalone) of MOW, Its not quite worth the money to be honest. 20€ tops, i will not recomend this game to my friends (who loved MOW). I would ask for a refund if i could.

78

Skirmish Mode for Men of War

Assault Squad offers what the previous games in the series lacked: a skirmish mode. The game is heavily geared towards multiplayer modes. As far as singleplayer is concerned, Assault Squad does not offer a linear, narrative-driven campaign like its predecessors. Instead the singleplayer campaign consists of a series of flag-capture skirmish modes. The goal on each map is to capture all the checkpoints on the map, with each checkpoint granting you access to additional units, while the AI-controlled enemy keeps throwing waves of increasingly powerful units at you.
Assault Squad may not sound like much of a singleplayer game compared to the earlier games in the series, but if you've been missing a skirmish mode in Men of War this game delivers just that. It also features upgraded tech and improved visuals.

81

Commandos meets Company of Heroes

Men of War is the third game in the series of tactical WWII strategy games that began with Soldiers: Heroes of WWII and its sequel Faces of War. While it has kept all the strong points of these two games, namely the tactical squad-based combat, micro-management, detailed and interactive environments, Men of War expands the gameplay to include large-scale assaults and more conventional army operations. In between those massive engagements, the game always returns to the series' roots and lets you maneuver a small squad of elite soldiers behind enemy lines, focussing on stealth and silent takedowns.
The game put a lot of emphasis on historical accuracy, attention to detail and tactical planning, making it a lot more challenging than Company of Heroes. Highly recommended for wargamers.

83

Left 4 Borderlands

This isn't quite the game I was expecting but that's not to say it's a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. While originally I was anticipating a more simulationist-style zombie survival game what I got was still a helluva lotta fun to play.
I haven't played all the way through the game yet and I've only played for about 5 hours on multiplayer (many many more hours on single player). That being said, I still feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the game and the experience that the designers were trying to give us. It's a brilliantly, gory, splatterific first person zombie survival/shooter game. I use the word 'shooter' loosely in that it takes the First Person perspective which is really familiar with shooter fans. There's not a lot of shooting in the early levels - a lot of up close and personal melee madness with rotting beach goers.
There are some RP elements as well - quests, quest hubs, loot progression and character advancement through an experience point system. All of these things give a strong feeling of progression and a give the player a measure of achievement and accomplishment. In short, it reminded me a lot of the Borderlands system of progression and advancement. This is a good thing - I loved that game.
The game isn't perfect but it is a lot of fun and for that it gets 4 stars!

100

Unique in its class

Beat Hazard is, at its heart, a simple game. It gives you control of a small ship whose goal is to continually dodge between and around various enemies, homing projectiles, and asteroids. In fact, it's very much like an updated version of the classic game, Asteroids, with your goal being to destroy as much as you can and accrue the maximum number of points possible without dying and seeing the game over screen. There are three major differences to set this game apart from its spritual predecessor, though, and really breathe new life into the old concept.
For one, your ship begins with a tiny cannon incapable of scratching the paint off most vessels, large or small, a situation quickly remedied by the collection of Power orbs which, if you collect enough of them, turn your plinger into an incredibly effective dealer of death. Also strewn about are Volume orbs, which serve the purpose of raising the volume of the game's music, which originally is quite muted, to a level that's satisfyingly loud, which unlocks other gameplay options as a result, and the visuals become more intense.
The second feature is the rank system which keeps you intrigued as you play through song after song. Starting as a lowly private, you eventually make your way, by collecting enough points, to the level of elite, and every rank you gain up to the final levels has a perk associated with it. Some rankings will keep you from losing volume and other powerups on death, others provide bonus powerups at the start of every level to give you an edge, and others unlock new difficulty levels.
Finally, the game's tagline is that it's "powered by your music," and the results are spectacular. Nothing gets you into Beat Hazard's colorful, explosive astral shootouts more than hearing your favorite songs playing in the background as your ship deals psychadelic death in all directions. To start, you direct the game to your music folder and select any song therein to begin. As soon as the music starts, the game, from the stars in the background to the nebulas all around, will begin to pulse in wild combinations of color. This depends on the track you selected, of course; the louder and more varied the track, the more interesting starbursts of color you will see on screen. Enemies will begin appearing in waves, but their configuration is usually methodic and structured and entirely controlled by the flow of the music. Slow points in the song will result in fewer enemies - the calm before the storm – but in the world of music, slow points usually precede fast, hectic ones. Just before the soft portion of the song ends, you receive a jarring warning on the screen and your ship takes off at lightspeed straight into a chaotic boss battle, with gunfire and explosions going off everywhere. Even the projectiles change color with the music, and your ship's cannons will sometimes fire in tight beams or wide, destructive rays depending on what the music is doing in the background. The game will also keep track of your performance on certain songs, reminding you how well you did and what difficulty you played at, or even if you failed a song and want to retry it to make it to 100% completion, which plays into the game's expansive list of achievements.
About the only thing wrong with Beat Hazard is that's it's a bit too simplistic, which becomes apparent after a short while. There are few enemy variations, from homing missile and torpedo launching ships to their countless unarmed counterparts which serve only to get in your path and cause a destructive explosion when you accidentally smash into them. Asteroids do appear, and once destroyed they shatter into dozens of smaller asteroids, which adds a layer of strategy when dodging them and your enemies at the same time. The boss battles are intense and invigorating, but there could have been more types of bosses to add variety and even a little mystery to the game's progression.
Despite this, the game's various difficulty levels, the reward system, and the fact your favorite songs make excellent combat music comprise a brilliant and refreshing side-scrolling / survival shooter, and I recommend it highly. It may not be the kind of game you would sit glued to for hours based on its content alone, but it will certainly keep you coming back for a song or two on a regular basis. I sometimes play it when I want to do a little more than just listen to my music, and it truly invokes the one-more-song mentality to keep you riveted because what Beat Hazard does, it does very well. The game is polished and plays like a charm, and the only thing I can compare it to is a constant battle amidst a 4th of July fireworks show, in space, to your most favorite songs. It's superbly excellent.

87

Wonderful direction

This game is a very fun and viscerally appealing good time. There are a couple of flaws, like a bug that sometimes makes the server list blank, and sometimes the collision detection is spotty.
On the other hand, it has a very wide variety of weapons to choose from, and they seem pretty balanced to me. You aren't very durable, so look for plenty of short fights. Teamkilling happens a great deal, and entirely by accident due to the simple fact you are swinging a razor sharp sword in a big arc.
The combat is innovative and very intuitive, with a lot of room for skill to win out. The developer, Torn Banner, also recently added an update with a bunch of new weapons, maps, and a duel mode. As far as I know the developer plans to continue this kind of support, with free content additions.
Well worth buying, and a bunch of fun. Held back a little by some very forgivable technical flaws. Someone said this game was "The worlds best online yelling simulator." which is also entirely true.

82

I do not regret the purchase

Just started playing HOI3 after years of playing HOI and HOI2 including the expansions Doomsday and Armageddon. I own the original vanilla HOI3 but never really got into it as it appeared to be very daunting and having little time to play was a little overwhelmed at first by all the features that are so different from the earlier versions.
Obviously my procrastination was both good and bad. Having read many player reviews of the vanilla version made me decide to hesitate playing it but with the new expansions from Paradox and a couple from end users this has changed greatly how the game plays and my hesitation to try HOI3 was unfounded. I recently purchased the HOI3 Collection and also the expansion TFH (Their Finest Hours)and have played a few games to get a feel for it. SO on to the review;
Since I am still in the learning stages I have to say right off that this is by far the best version of the HOI series to date. The most impressive thing I noticed right off the bat is the COM (Chain of Command) which is also every units life line for supply and that you can detach units from corps, corps from armies and armies from army groups and so on. No longer do you waste time building HQ units which rob you of valuable IC and time in the production menu. All HQ's are instantaneous and all they need are supporting brigades to be attached. Their is a more natural and realistic feel in regards to creating your order of battle.
Each division can be constructed either by selecting the default in the production menu or by creating your own variation. IE a typical German Infantry Division has 3 brigades and you can delete all of them or one of them etc and add supporting battalions/Brigades depending on your current level of research. The construction of individual brigades is also available and can be added to existing divisions that have the space to add them or HQ units. their is a lot to experiment with in developing well balanced units or specialized units.
Technology development has been changed greatly and just as your armies need officers so does the R&D and is offered as a slider to allocate IC's towards building your officer pool, as well as Diplomatic points, espionage/spy points and of course allocated IC's for research and development of units.
At this point I have not played controlling Diplomacy or Intelligence areas but this seems to be far more intricate.I let the AI play these parts and even delegated the AI to Slider control of Technology all I had to do was select the areas I wanted research in. I also use the AI to fine tune production while I select what I want produced then delegate the AI to maintain control so I don't waste valuable IC. Although you have to keep an eye on the AI in regards to production so it doesn't try to build units you don't want.
I look forward to trying the MP (Multiplayer) option as I have read it makes the game even more enjoyable
I will update this as I progress

86

Excellent pack with excellent content

The amount of content you get in this package is excellent. I highly recommend it if you have any interest in these games. Both games are very similar but they fill a unique niche very nicely. These are games that change up the original hack and slash a bit. You are the evil Overlord and as such you control endless hordes of minions to fight for you and of course you get to be involved in the combat yourself with very basic hack and slash RPG combat similar to Fable.

85

A DLC that is worth every penny

This is definitely the best DLC Paradox have released for their popular game Crusader Kings 2. The main feature, playing as a pagans, works very well and especially playing as norse vikings is extremely fulfilling. There's nothing more fun than pillaging looting and putting puny christians to the axe. Besides the obvious joys of playing pagans the DLC also adds other welcome feature such as better rebels and technology which work very well.
All these great things being said, one could wish for a bit more depth with the various pagan tribes besides the norse. They're fun - but it is clear the norse were the focus. Lastly the game needs a bit more balancing but I have every confidence Paradox will patch this soon enough.
In conclusion, worth every penny and a good example of a successful DLC!

84

All the quality of King's Bounty

Simply put, a great game. Hands down one of the better fantasy strategy RPGs I have played. I have invested many hours in this game I feel none of them were wasted. The pacing feels good, aside from a few points in the game where I wish there was a slightly faster means of travel, the pace the game sets is good as you explore and battle your way across the map. You will always be steadily growing stronger as the game progresses, as you acquire more armies, better gear and stats but unlike many games of this type you will always find a challenge, never reaching the point where you march a godlike army through all that oppose you.
The pace and the challenge are what make this game feel really good. You won't get bored with your battles. The constantly changing scenery of the game will pit you against different opponents and the vastly different unit types and battlegrounds will keep you on your toes as you will find that one stratagem won't be effective in all situations.
My one major issue with the game is the lack of multiplayer, pitting your armies against your friends would, in my opinion make this game better than it's HoMM counter parts. But even without a multiplayer component this game is on my list of favorites.

84

A game with the spirit of the new Final Fantasy

This game is the mix of traditional Japanease RPG and the typical Western one.
Because of this it’s one of those games you either love it or hate from the start. I think Square Enix did it well. And please, don’t read console reviews as PC version is vastly improved and superior.
Story is typical cliche about young boy who later becomes world savior. It’s pretty lame and boring in the start, but later is much better. There are especially very interesting side quests. Music is mostly good, and for the audio language – well, English is nothing special. I am huge fan of anime so I play game with Japanease audio which is simply excellent. Translation is not always accurate. For example in the beggining of game, Emma said: „David-sama“, but you read in English „My Lord“. It doens’t ruin experience, but really how they could miss translation with so easy sentences? Graphics is very good, and you need beefy hardware to run everything maxed out [only for battles]. Loadings are mostly very fast (3-5 s) except here and there. The only problem with graphics is occasional tearing of cut-in animations.
And the lasty – gameplay. In battles you command with so called unions, not individual soldiers. Many hates this approach, but I like it as it would be very hard to command with every soldier in large battles. Games is all about tactics. And even more – you can’t upgrade your soldiers neither. They’ll upgrade by themselves, and from the time to time, they'll ask you to provide some goods or how they should focus in development (combat, mystical or both arts). So basically you only upgrade your hero (Rush Sykes). There is very good tutorial in the beggining and learning game mechanics is really easy but mastering is not as there is randomness involved in battles. Game is hard, and you’ll often die.
Just try demo because battle part is the most controversial.

84

Enjoyable lightweight fantasy strategy

This game is a standalone expansion to "King's Bounty: The Legend", and a spiritual successor of the "Heroes of Might and Magic" series. Personally, I found it more enjoyable than the later installments of said series (though it didn't manage to push Heroes of Might and Magic III off its throne). It stays close to the true and tested gameplay formula of its predecessors, but updates the graphics considerably. It offers exploration, epic turn-based battles, RPG elements (developing the heroes), and lots of different troops with unique abilities. The quests often include humorous elements, which may not be everybody's taste, but I found the game to be a good mixture of epic fantasy and light-hearted narrative. The main criticism I have about the game is that the AI isn't very smart - the game's difficulty is achieved by giving the AI bonuses in strength and numbers. The game therefore doesn't quite succeed as a serious strategy game, but it doesn't try to be one either.

93

The madness of a psycho in your hands

Quite interesting character, bringing you chance to get inside Psycho's mind when activating his special skill. He shouts out funny, crazy stuff like "Insurance fraud!" when running over bandits with vehicles etc, and even his skin names are crazy and capitalized. Skill trees are unusual, so you have to play smart with Krieg. They are "Hight risk - high reward". For example, there is one skill, that makes you vulnerable to other players, so you have to play carefully.
Definitely something different than other characters.

94

Improves on the original in every way imaginable

I personally loved the first game and I can't recommend this game enough if you're a fan of Sanctum.
This one takes everything that was great about the original and tweaks it just enough to keep it interesting, and adds even more all new content to keep it feeling fresh like a story mode, new characters with unique abilities and a way to scale the difficulty according to your taste.
And it's tons of fun to play with your mates in co-op, fantastic game.

97

A Wonderfully Atmospheric Post-Apocalyptic FPS

If you are a fan of the the books, or the first game, do not hesitate to buy this (finances allowing, that is)! I almost waited to see Angry Joe's review before buying it, but couldn't wait. Bought it right on release and I couldn't be happier. The game improves on every part of it's predecessor. It is also optimized for the PC much better than Metro 2033 was. That's not to say it doesn't have it's problems, but I've seen way worse optimization. A couple things (that you might already know) to consider before you buy: FOV is locked. The latest patch fixes that, you can go to the ini file and change it manually. Also, aim assist is locked on by default. Again, ini fix - easy. The graphics are wonderful (for anyone that can't tell by the screens), and again, optimized well for PC. My Geforce GTX 660m 2gb can play it on very high quality settings w/ 16x AA and advanced physx on. Another thing... There's no in-game option to mess with quality like you'd expect of PC games. Only a very basic and general low, normal, high, very high option. You can't mess with shadow details or depth of field or anything, sadly. Might be in the ini but I haven't actually searched for that.
TL;DR - A great PC FPS with a wonderful atmosphere and greatly optimized. Also, not a crappy console port! Though, there are somethings that veteran PC players may notice are missing in the settings, but... don't skip out this game just for that.

84

Back to the origins of resident evil

Enjoying the game the atmosphere and haunting sounds help to add to the tension. Unlike Resident Evil 6 there is more about survival than gun battles. Controls with mouse keyboard are fine although some of the menus you have to use the keys to navigate instead of just hitting the mouse button.

74

Ideal for fans of Japanese culture

The dlc for magicka is pure awesome, first it was released with the motive that, The sales would go to the charity for the great tragedy japan suffered. Secondly at 99 cents it offers a great value.
The nippon dlc for magicka contains the following addition to the base game 1 Kimono robe 1 Katana - "Yawarakai-Te" (cuts through armour) 1 Bamboo Staff - "Staff of Endurance" (resistance to all elements)
1)The kimono robe looks very cool, fans of the samurai will love to use it to customize their character.
2)Katana - one of the few weapons in the game that ingnores armor, very quick best to use in close encounters and pvp duels, The weapon becomes a bit hard to use when there is a huge mob and ranged enemies.
3)The bamboo Staff is the main strength of this dlc, it offers great resistance to all elements which means , Those nasty spell casting enemies in the game cant damage you much, works out well in pvp too.As the opponents are force to get close to hurt you, you can slice them apart with the Katana.
Hoping for more japanese themed stuff for magicka soon. probably a map and some ancient quests.

79

A modern game with the spirit of the Old School

The first time I played it but I'm ashamed to say, was pirated: (
now that I can buy original games, I did not hesitate a second to buy it.
the first thing I liked was that difficulty unsettling, a good representative of the survival horror, if 8-bit 2D but who cares, it gives a special magic to the game and makes only we add the limited ammunition that increases the realism to survival, why not come and shoot like crazy, measure the bullets so they do not run out and end up being zombie food.
I can only say buy it and Play it with friends, I swear I will not be disappointed.

93

A game that is worth every penny

I'm not a fan of online gaming, but I accept that this game is my daily habit.
guided by the opinion of a friend decided to buy, I thought it would be a waste of money, the play I realized I was wrong, this game is worth every penny.
Let's start while it is a pure online also has an offline mode for those without internet access permanently, but this way only serves to train with bots and understand the mechanics of the game.
In online mode you see the potential of this game and how hard it is to get a death of a member of the opposing team, where they fight with each point of life to achieve this goal and how good it feels to kill that enemy camper or troll that is always in the games, and then taunt him by ending his streak of deaths.
Anyway, if you want a fun game to not get bored in a long time, buy it

88

Action frantic and addictive

The first time I played a Painkiller parecion an entertaining game with many secrets but as easy, Painkiller: Redemption collects the best of the Painkiller and difficulty increases, this ceases to be a walk in the park for a game of old school are those who are surprised by these days.
My recommendation is: if you want a game with addictive gameplay this is your game